Do not enter!

  I guess every country has a right to protect itself and its way of life.  If I wanted to be guaranteed freedom of speech, I should have remained in the United States or Australia.

There are a lot of great things about living in Thailand, but there are definitely trade-offs as well.  One of the tradeoffs is censorship. 

It wasn’t long ago that news media around the world were reporting that u-tube had been blocked throughout Thailand because of some videos that mocked (or were at least uncomplimentary to) His Majesty the King.  His Majesty is a great man; Thai people here hold him in a position of great reverence, and there are specific laws against criticizing the monarchy.  

German Tawandang (German Beer Garden Rama III)

  Monday night I took three Thai girls out to Tawandang on Rama III to celebrate a birthday.  I had been to Tawandang at Intra Rama about 19 months ago, and the two venues are similar.

Seating capacity is around 1,600 people and the reports I get from my Thai friends who go there frequently is that on Friday and Saturday nights every seat is taken.  Last night, though, the upstairs mezzanine area wasn’t open, and the ground floor seemed to be about 85% full — I’m guessing a shade under 1,000 people.  Not bad for a Monday night.

There’s the usual blend of food, drinks and entertainment that is commonly found in these large venues aimed at the middle class Thai crowd.  But what is special about Tawandang is that they operate a microbrewery on-site.  They offer three styles of beer and a glass wall that offers a look into the brewing area. 

The Rise & Fall

   

I’m not a Bangkok “insider”.  I’m just a bloke who lives here.

Everything I know about Bangkok is based on my limited first-hand experience, or from reading the newspaper or internet, the same as most other people.

The “insiders” are the people that other people tell when they find out something.  The insiders always know the score. 

I do occasionally act as an informant, which is where the insiders get most of their information.  For instance, if I find out exactly how much a mamasan earns at a certain bar, or a good friend tips me off that there’s a new government policy that will affect foriegn visa rules then I’ll call the insiders that I know and tell them.  As insiders, it’s their job to tell everybody else.

One of the well-know Ferang insiders in Bangkok is Stickman, who has been operating on the internet for about a decade now.  In the wake of the Big Mango Bar closing this weekend, Stickman wrote an excellent article about the Big Mango in particular, and Nana Plaza in general.

Most of the information about Nana Plaza was unknown to me before reading the article, but one thing was common knowledge to punters on the street like me.  Nana has been noticeably in decline for a year or more, while Soi Cowboy has been improving.  Two or three years ago Soi Cowboy was being declared DOA by most commenters on the Bangkok scene. 

A busy week but not much new

I had sex yesterday, but it was with the same go go dancer that I wrote about two weeks ago.  On Thursday evening she sent me a message on my mobile phone asking if she could go out with me.  I went to Nana Plaza and barfined her, and took her to Tokyo Joe’s, a venue that I reviewed three weeks ago.  I had to work early on Friday, so when we left TJs, we each went to our separate homes. 

Working early meant that I had most of Friday afternoon free, so I called her and invited her to my place.  She came over around 3:30, and she spent some time teaching me a little bit of Thai language before we got down to business.  We were a little more creative with our sexual positions this time, and with the air conditioner off it was  a hot & sweaty session.  A pounding doggie style seemed to get her pretty excited.  I think she ‘came’ four times before she finally went for her shower.  I managed to finish three times.  It was a pretty sloppy session, and I was forced to wash the sheets and blankets today as a result.

A Sad Day

  The Big Mango, probably my favorite bar in the universe, is closing tomorrow.  Apparently unhappy with life in Nana Plaza, the owners say that they have declined to renew their lease, and will be re-opening in a new location (as yet unknown) at some point in the future (as yet undefined).

They continue to operate their fine English Pub — the Duke of Wellington — on Silom Road, but I’ll be anxiously looking forward to the resurrection of the Big Mango.

Thursday & Friday (25 & 26 October) are the last opportunities to visit the Big Mango in it’s present location. 

Tuesday Night at Soi Cowboy

   Last night I went out to Soi Cowboy with my friend Petey – a local Bangkok resident.  Our first go-go stop was in Rawhide at 9:00.  We stayed for an hour, seeing several ‘shows’ featuring high energy dancing from crews of naked girls.

 

The best was a three-girl choreographed set that had me & Petey assessing three perfect bodies and three attractive faces trying to find a flaw.  All three dancers were ‘perfect 10s’.  I think we could have happily stayed in Rawhide all night, but we moved on because one of our goals of the evening was for Petey to see the Lesbian show at Suzie Wong’s… something he’d heard about many times but never seen.

I Want to Die Fucking

  This article was published in The Nation, one of Thailand’s major English-language newspapers:

 Pattaya – An American tourist died while having sex with a Thai bar girl in this seaside resort town late Sunday night, police said.

The bar girl told police that Ronald Kipu, 58, took three pills of Kamagra before having sex with her.

She filed complaints with police at 12:30 am that the man collapsed and stopped breathing while having sex with her in his room on the sixth floor of New Star Apartment in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district.

Kipu just arrived at Pattaya Sunday afternoon and took her to his apartment from a bar in the evening, she said.

Police said there was no trace of fighting or assaulting on the man.

Police found a four-pill pack of Kamagra wit just one pill left.

The mans’ body was sent for an autopsy.

The Nation

Hi-So Lo-So

There is some interesting terminology here in Thailand that reflects some cultural realities that, while they are not unique to Thailand, certainly seem alien to my American and Australian egalitarian background. 

In Thailand, the term Hi-So is a shortened version of high society.  It describes someone who is rich (or at least well-to-do), attractive, fashionable and possibly famous.  It’s corollary, Lo-So can be applied to people who are none of these things.